In order to maintain your financial aid, please follow the steps below. Please note that if a student only wishes to be considered for their merit scholarship, then they do not need to submit a FAFSA.

1. Submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 1st. (Please submit earlier, if possible. The 2025-2026 FAFSA became available December 2024. Winter break is a good time, if you are home and can sit down with a parent to submit.)

• For federal aid, state aid, and institutional need-based aid consideration
• Website: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
• Goucher's FAFSA code 002073
• We encourage filers to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when completing their FAFSA.

Submit a FAFSA

2. Additional information such as citizenship documents or IRS Tax Transcripts may be required. Due to software update needs, we may not begin importing and communicating document needs until March or April each year. If additional information is needed, the office will notify the student via email. Required documents may also be found on the Net Partner.

3. Meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and maintain the appropriate grade point average required for your financial aid.

Financial Aid Timeline for Current Undergraduates

Date	Event or Task Required
October-December	The FAFSA becomes available each year. (The 2025-2026 FAFSA became available December 2024.) We highly recommend students submit their FAFSA over winter break while they are home and can work with their parents as needed.
March 1	*Priority deadline for FAFSA. (The 2025-2026 FAFSA deadline is March 1, 2025.) Also meets the deadline for Maryland residents.
April-May	Students respond to e-mails or check Net Partner to submit any additional needed documents. Students should have all items submitted by the end of May to avoid any delays in processing their financial aid.
mid-June	Provided all documents have been submitted by end of May, students begin receiving financial aid notifications to their Goucher student e-mail. (Students will begin receiving 2025-2026 financial aid packages in mid-June 2025.)

*Students must file by the priority deadline to be considered for certain programs with more limited funding, such as Federal Work Study.